Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
April 21, 2008 - Serena Pov.
I was standing in the middle of my music room, manipulating the necessary instruments. With a touch of magic, the music started playing the exact moment I started recording with the camera and microphone. My attention immediately went to the door, where Bella had quietly entered. I glanced at her as I listened to the beginning of the song, bringing my mouth close to the microphone while raising an eyebrow in her direction.
If you wanna run away with me, I know a galaxy
And I can take you for a ride
I had a premonition that we fell into a rhythm
Where the music don't stop for life
Glitter in the sky, glitter in my eyes
Shining just the way I like
If you're feeling like you need a little bit of company
You met me at the perfect time
The sneer of disgust Bella made as she listened to the lyrics almost made me burst out laughing, but I held back long enough. Bella magically walked in completely silently and hugged me lightly from behind, resting her chin on my shoulder and staring at the lyrics in front of me. I had to give her credit for not letting out a sound of disgust.
You want me, I want you, baby
My sugarboo, I'm levitating
The Milky Way, we're renegading
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I got you, moonlight, you're my starlight
I need you all night, come on, dance with me
I'm levitating
I continued singing along to Dua Lipa's "Levitating," not caring that Bella was pressed up against my body. If I'd been completely human, it might have made it difficult for me to breathe, but she didn't. At least I was grateful that she didn't interrupt me or make any noise while I was recording. She simply remained silent as she snuggled up against me.
In fact, she didn't interrupt even when I finished the song, so I started recording the next one on my list. Dua Lipa's IDGAF, too. I could feel the disgust coming off Bella even without looking at her. Then I moved on to New Rules, and finally Love Again.
Finally, I finished recording and turned off the equipment.
"That was horrible. Why are you torturing me like this?" Bella growled as she hid her face in the crook of my neck. I laughed lightly.
"You got in on your own. I thought I said I'd be recording songs," I said playfully. Bella groaned.
"Yes, but you lied. Those weren't songs. They were a new kind of torture. One I don't enjoy." Bella replied, and I burst out laughing.
"Don't be mean. These are songs Enid asked me to record," I said simply. Bella snorted.
"I'm sure she has the original versions. Let her listen to those. And in private." Bella grunted, and I shrugged.
"I think she wants to take them to the music company we created and start marketing them or something. I didn't pay much attention to her. She's getting help from Ravel, and apparently, they got the idea that I had to record the songs even though we were hiring people for that." I said playfully.
"And you just went along with it?" Bella asked.
"Of course, it's something Enid wants to do, even though I don't understand why. I like to sing, and I like almost all kinds of music, so it doesn't bother me," I said honestly. Bella choked.
"Even that thing she calls Korean music?" Bella looked at me in horror, and I burst out laughing.
"It's not bad, certainly. I had my K-pop phase. If you had arrived an hour earlier, you would have arrived in the middle of TWICE's recording." I said playfully. Bella shuddered violently.
"The horror. How could they possibly like that kind of music?" Bella shuddered, a hint of horror in her voice. I shrugged.
"I mean, I'm more of a MAMAMOO person, but there's nothing wrong with TWICE." I said mockingly. Bella groaned.
"You know that's not what I mean," Bella snarled, and I laughed playfully. "Tell me you're at least making real music." Bella almost begged. I rolled my eyes.
"Do you want me to record something to clean your delicate eardrums?" I asked mockingly.
"I'd appreciate it," Bella said dryly. I laughed lightly, but complied. I moved my hand, and everything started to light up again, and I stepped up to the microphone once more. I placed a hand to my throat as I concentrated. It was challenging to make a worn, ragged voice like the one I had in mind, but I'd been practicing. Finally, I began to sing Maneskin's La Paura del Buio.
Sento mille voci che parlano, ma non sento che dicono
(I hear thousands of voices talking, But I don't hear what they say.)
Mi guardo allo specchio ed immagino di essere al circo
(I look myself in the mirror and I imagine, That I'm in a circus,)
Su una giostra di felicità e non voglio andare giù
(On a caroussel of happiness, And I don't want to get off)
Anche se non mi diverto più
(Although I'm not having fun anymore.)
A volte mi sento un miracolo e a volte ridicolo
(Sometimes I feel like a miracle, And sometimes ridiculous.)
Poi perdo la testa in un attimo, ma non ditelo in giro
(Then I lose my mind in a moment, But don't tell anyone,)
Son fuori di me
(I'm completely mad,)
Son fuori di me
(I'm completely mad,)
E quindi prendimi, mordimi, toglimi tutto
(So go ahead, take me, bite me, take everything away from me,)
Continuerò a non avere la paura del buio
(I'll keep not being afraid of the dark.)
Ed anche quando sarò giù per terra distrutto
(And even when I'm on the ground, destroyed,)
Continuerò a non avere la paura del buio
(I'll keep not being afraid of the dark.)
E quindi sputami, strappami i vestiti di dosso
(So go ahead, spit on me, tear my clothes off,)
Continuerò a non avere la paura del buio
(I'll keep not being afraid of the dark.)
E quindi comprami, vendimi, fammi di tutto
(So go ahead, buy me, sell me, do anything you want to me,)
Sei soltanto tu ad avere la paura del buio
(It's gonna be only you who's afraid of the dark, not we.)
Noi no, noi no, io no, io
(Not we, not I, I...)
Preparo il mio valzer col diavolo
(I've been preparing my waltz with the devil)
Da quando son piccolo
(Since I was little.)
Puoi darmi del pazzo, bastardo, malato
(You can call me a fool, a bastard, insane,)
Io ci brinderò sopra col vino
(I'll make a toast to that with wine.)
Sì, brinderò a te
(Yes, I'll make a toast to you.)
Sì, brinderò a te
(Yes, I'll make a toast to you.)
Perché so che anche se mi hai odiato
(Yes, I'll make a toast to you, 'cause I know that even though you hated me,)
Canterai il mio nome
(You'll end up singing my name.)
I kept singing with everything I had. The Italian rolled off my tongue without even thinking. The perfect tone and pronunciation that I'd never been able to replicate in my past life, not even in my dreams.
When I finally finished, I looked at Bella with a smile. Bella's eyes were wide open as she stared at me in disbelief.
"You can sing something like that, and you decide to sing something that has the word ' sugarboo' in its lyrics?" Bella asked incredulously. I burst out laughing.
"Don't let the other genres bother you, dear. They can't hurt you," I said playfully, my eyes sparkling with amusement. "Besides, you still haven't told me what you thought of the song." I smiled innocently at her. Bella snorted.
"Fishing for praise? How unbecoming of someone in your position." Bella mocked, and I smiled at her.
"Is seeking praise from my fiancée wrong?" I asked innocently. Bella rolled her eyes.
" Well, I didn't know you spoke Italian. I must say, I found it very...attractive." Bella said, looking away slightly with a slight blush. My eyes sparkled as I smiled.
" Love mine." I purred as I grabbed Bella's waist and smirked at her. Bella snorted and pushed me away from her. I burst out laughing as Bella glared at me, which wasn't very effective due to her blush.
"Don't you dare," Bella growled. I raised both hands in surrender.
"So, was there anything you needed?" I asked as I began tidying up the living room. Bella snorted once more and crossed her arms.
"Can't I come here whenever I want?" Bella asked simply. I laughed lightly.
"I missed you too. It's been a long time since we've spent time together." I said with a soft smile. Bella groaned.
"We had a movie marathon two days ago, just the two of us," Bella replied, but she looked away, slightly blushing. I laughed lightly.
"Like I said, a long time." I chastely kissed her lips before pulling away. Bella groaned, and I just laughed in amusement. "So, is there anything you want to do? I'm done recording for today, so I'm free." I said simply.
"I didn't have anything planned. Like I said, I came because I had nothing better to do," Bella said, and I hummed. I waved my hand again, and the instruments began to play once more. This time, it was a slower song. I waved my hand, pushing everything away from us.
"I remember we couldn't dance at my engagement party with Ravel, and we haven't been able to go on elaborate dates lately. Bella, may I have this dance?" I asked as I extended my hand to her. Bella snorted, but took my hand. I could see a small smile grow on her face. I pulled her towards me.
It wasn't anything fancy what we were doing. We were just slowly swaying to the music as we twirled around the room. We were just drinking in each other's presence. The intimacy of just being together. The love we shared was truly beautiful. I wouldn't ask to be anywhere else.
I don't remember how long we twirled in each other's arms. But the silence between us was finally broken by Bella.
"I don't know what to do," Bella finally said, not even lifting her head from where she was leaning on my shoulder.
"What do you mean?" I asked softly.
"Everyone… has these projects to distract themselves, that they can immerse themselves in. But I… I don't. I'm just relegated to being your bodyguard. I try to perform my duties as your queen, and I'm capable of it, but Ravel and Malfoy are better at it, and they actually enjoy doing it, so I prefer to leave it to them." Bella said almost so slowly it was barely a whisper. I almost stopped moving, but Bella just kept pushing against me to keep from stopping.
"I... I didn't know you felt this way," I said softly. I held onto Bella tighter, and she did the same. "Isn't there... anything you want to do?" I asked quietly.
"Besides hunting souls, training and fighting? Not really." Bella said with a shrug.
"Was there nothing else you were interested in before joining me?" I asked curiously. Bella groaned slightly.
"Not really? I had an affinity for the dark arts, and I liked learning and increasing my dueling skills. But I've already done that. With the company's talents, combined with my own natural abilities, learning anything you teach me becomes remarkably easy. As does increasing my power levels. I'm advancing fairly easily through the templates as we train more. There's no... challenge there."
"And you all have your own things to do half the time, so I can't spend all my time training with any of you," Bella said, almost sufferingly. I grimaced.
"Yeah… I guess so," I said, and began to think. "So… do you want me to help you find a hobby or something?" I asked softly.
"I... I have no idea. I just... I just wanted to talk to you about it," Bella said softly. We both fell silent as we slipped into the room.
"What do you think about... accepting a mission for The Company?" I asked after some thought. Bella paused for a split second before continuing to dance.
"A mission? But wouldn't it interfere with the mission we already have?" Bella asked, frowning.
"Not really. We can accept up to three missions at a time. I wouldn't really change anything about accepting another one," I said simply. Bella nodded slowly.
"So... what did you have in mind?" she asked, and I hummed lightly.
"I'm sure we can find a quest that's more to your liking. Let's say I think I saw a quest that had the objective of exploiting the dungeon in a series called DanMachi. The dungeon is a complex labyrinth filled with monsters. They get stronger and stronger the more floors you descend."
"I think most of the strongest people there, aside from the gods, are only in T6, but you can probably find some fun going and doing some dungeon expeditions," I said honestly. Bella looked at me, her eyes shining as she bit her lip, almost looking genuinely excited.
"Are you sure?" Bella asked excitedly. I shrugged.
"Or else, there are more quests we can pursue. I'm really curious about Toriko's world. There's no real magic involved, but it's a 'Gourmet' world. Everything there is way more delicious than usual, and people evolve and get stronger by eating ingredients."
"The problem is that the most precious ingredients are obtained from increasingly powerful animals and monsters. So much so that the most precious ingredients come from monsters the size of a country and hover between levels T8 and T9. And all the most powerful people are above T7." I said simply. Bella almost moaned slightly.
"Can we have that? Please?" Bella begged, and I laughed lightly as I pulled her along; we continued dancing.
"Of course, though, we can keep looking. I'm sure we'll find a quest you'll really enjoy. You don't even have to leave this world. Once you accept the quest, we can create portals to that world at any time, so you can go whenever you get bored in this one." I said honestly. Bella sighed dreamily before stopping.
"I love you. Thank you for listening to me," Bella said forcefully as she stared at me and then hugged me tenderly. I hugged her back without hesitation.
"I love you too, Bella. I want you to be happy." Bella bit her lip as she looked at me.
"How about I show you how happy you're making me?" Bella asked suggestively. I laughed lightly, but started kissing her.
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